Floor construction



P 1958 w. H. SALE 2,852,815

FLOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 15, 1954 Patented Sept. 23, 1958 FLOOR CONSTRUCTION William H. Sale, Sandston, Va.

Application September 15, 1954, Serial No. 456,143

2 Claims. (Cl. 20-8) The invention relates to floor constructions and more particularly to heavy duty floors of the type used in railway cars and secured on a metallic underframe of the car.

One object of the invention is to provide a floor of boards having their opposite edges provided with tongues and grooves which interfit when opposite edges are laid in abutting relation with fasteners for securing the boards to a floor support, which are set into one edge of a board and outside of the interfitting edge of an abutting board.

Another object is to provide a method of fastening floor boards on floor supports.

Another object is to provide a screw type fastener which includes an integral shank and angular stud which can be expeditiously secured in the edge of one board outside of the inteifitting edge of an abutting board.

Other objects will appear from the detailed description.

The invention consists in the several novel features which are hereinafter set forth and are more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a floor embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. l, the clip being shown in elevation;

Fig. 3 is a sectional perspective illustrating the socket and notch inv one edge of the board for the fastening device;

Fig. 4 is a perspective of the fastening device;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the edge of the board with the socket and slot for the fastener; and

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 66 of Fig. 5.

The invention is exemplified in the floor of a railway car, which comprises a series of boards 9, each of which has an uninterrupted top face 10, and tongue-and-grooved opposite edges 11 and 12. Each edge 11 has a longitudinal groove 13 between an upper tongue 14 and a lower tongue 15. Each edge 12 has a tongue 16 adapted to fit into the groove 15 of an edge 11 of an abutting board and is mortised or grooved as at 17 above and below tongue 16 to fit around the tongues 14 and 15 of an edge of an abutting board. The top and bottom faces of the boards 9 are flush. The floor is adapted to be supported and secured on supporting elements, such as side sills, center sills, intermediate sills or a body bolster of the underframe, as well understood in the art. The fastening devices, generally designated 20 of the present invention are adapted to secure the floor board on any of such elements, and to be mounted in the floor boards at all spots where it is desired or necessary to secure them on the floor-supporting structure.

Each fastening device 20 includes a shank or stem 21 provided with a screw thread 22 on its lower end, an integral substantially right-angled stud 23 and an integral connecting elbow 24. A nut 25 on screw thread 22 is adapted to clamp a clip or lug 26 against the bottom of a board 9 and a floor-supporting element exemplified by bar 27. The clip usually includes a prong 28 for biting into a floor board. The shank 22, stud 23 and elbow 24 are bent or forged from round bars.

At selected spots where the floor is to be secured on the supporting structure, one edge of a floor board 9 is cut away to retain the stud, shank and elbow of each fastener outside of the interfitting edge of an abutting board. This is accomplished by boring a substantially horizontal socket 3'? into one edge of a board and cutting a vertical open-sided notch 31 between the bottom face of the board and the socket 30. The notch 31 extends into the board a sufiicient distance to retain the shank of a fastener outside of the interfitting edge of the abutting board. In assembling the board and fastener, the stud 2.3 is inserted endwise into socket 3i and the shank 22 is inserted sidewise into the notch 31, with the screw thread 22 projecting below the board 9. Since the fastener must be as sembled with the boards 9 before they are laid in interfitting and abutting relation, the stud 23 may be slightly deformed or tapered as at 28 to provide a drive-fit with socket 30 to retain the fasteners in the boards and prevent displacement during the handling of the boards in laying the floor.

In the exemplification of the invention illustrated, the socket 30 extends into the board in back of a groove 13, and the notch 21 extends across and back of the lower tongue 15 and in back of the base of groove 13 so that the shank 21 and elbow 24 will be outside of the tongue 16 and the interfitting edge 12 of an abutting board 9.

The sockets 30 and notches 21 are cut in one edge of a board on the floor-supporting structure. No cutting of an abutting board is necessary. The fasteners are assembled with the board by driving the stud 23 endwise into the socket 3t and moving the shank 21 sidewise to the back of notch 31. After a board and fastener have been assembled, the edge of the board with the fastener can be placed into interfitting and abutting relation of another board to complete the fioor. A clip 27 is then placed around the screw thread 22 of shank 2i and clamped by nut 25 against the floor and its support to secure the board on its support.

The invention exemplifies; fastening devices for car floors which include a screw shank and an integral stud which are applied in their entirety to one edge of tongueand-grooved boards so that no change in the edge of an abutting board is necessary; fastening devices which can be assembled with a board before the boards are laid together to form the floor; fastening devices which do not extend to the top face of the floor; and a method of assembling the fasteners with the floor boards which is simple and economical.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details set forth since these may be modified within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. Anchoring means for a floor composed of boards. each provided on one of its edges with a longitudinal pair of upper and lower tongues and an intermediate groove and on its opposite edge with a pair of grooves and an intermediate tongue, interfitting with the pair of upper and lower tongues and intermediate groove of an abutting board, the edge of the lower tongue of said pair of tongues being provided with a vertical open-ended notch extending across and inwardly of the base of the intermediate groove and a pro-formed socket extending inwardly from and communicating with the inner end of said notch, said anchoring means comprising: a fastener including a shank insertible transversely into, and fitting between sides of, the notch, and having its outer side substantially flush with the outer side of the intermediate tongue on an abutting board, and an integral substan- 3 tially right-angled stud insertible axially into and fitting in the-preformed socket, and screw means ontheshank for tightening the fastener after it has been placed in the socket and recess of one board, and with an abutting boa-rd for clamping both abutting boards on a support.

2. Anchoring means for a floor composed of boards, each provided On one of its edges with a longitudinal pair of upper and lower tongues and an intermediate groove and on its opposite edge with a pair of grooves and an intermediate tongue, interfitting with the pair of upper and lower tongues and intermediate groove of an abutting board, the edge of the lower tongue of said pair of tongues being provided with a vertical openended notch extending across and inwardlyof the base of the intermediate groove and a pre-formed socket extending inwardly from andcommunicating with'the inner end of said notch, said anchoring means comprising: a fas tener including a shank insertible transversely into, and fitting: between sides of; the notch, and having its outer side substantially flush with the outer side of the intermediate tongue. on an: abutting board, and an integral References'Cited" in the file of" this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,358,687 Lyon Nov. 9, 1920 2,201,778 Kump May 21, 1940 2,234,231 Campbell et al. Mar. 11, 1941 2,246,457 Schultz June 17, 1941 2,337,278 Schmitz Dec. 21', 1 943 2,439,220 Rothfuchs Apr; 6, 1948 2,634,833 M-acLean et al. Apr.- 14, 1953 

